Reviews & Commentary

What a pleasure for me to find this film noir. A very rare one. I did not even know it existed. And directed by Joseph Newman. It reminds me his Human Jungle, shot several years earlier. The picture about gangsters and corrupted politicians in a big city, and the struggle between them and a bunch of hardboiled and honest, untouchable, police officers.

This story, written by the great WR Burnett, the author of "Asphalt Jungle", is interesting because it focuses as much on the "bad" ones as on the "good" ones. It shows how the system goes, in the underworld. The shooting looks like TV production from this era, for instance camera zooms. But it's OK.It suits well to this story.

Vera Miles and Jack Warden add much to this - I repeat - very rare and interesting film noir. An unknown one from director Joseph Newman.